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Letters: State is losing a quality educator

Las Cruces Sun-News
Published 6:51 p.m. MT Aug. 31, 2018

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Christopher Ruszkowski, New Mexico education secretary-designate, talks with students from Anthony Elementary School, Monday July 16, 2018 at Anthony Elementary School. Ruszkowski came to the school to celebrate Gadsden Independent School District's testing results.(Photo: Josh Bachman/Sun-News)Buy Photo

NM is losing a quality educator

Katie Poulos, head of Public Education Department’s (PED) Charter School Division (CSD), is leaving NM having made charter schools much more accountable. She is moving to Boston. I do not know the reason, but there was huge written criticism from the NM Coalition of Charter Schools, some charter school administrators, and some Public Education Commissioners (PEC) when Katie tried to regulate and improve charter school accountability across the state during her first months in NM.

While there are still troubles with aspects of charter school operations in NM, Katie improved the quality and accountability of educational opportunities here.

She believes that educational programs should address our large and persistent achievement gaps through innovations that aren’t always found in traditional public schools.

Katie came to NMPED as a young attorney who had gave up a lucrative law career to teach 8th grade pre-algebra in Greenville, Mississippi, and prior to coming to NM, was director of Academic Accountability for charter schools in Arizona. She was committed to improving the quality of education in low-performing charter schools.

The rigor she imposed was not initially appreciated by many on the PEC nor the charter leaders. Her efforts were thwarted by some charters that had been allowed to operate with little accountability and transparency.

Through her leadership, there has been better training of charter school governing boards and administrators, improved evaluation rubrics, and more financial oversight. Unlike her predecessors, she worked with the PEC when it decided not to authorize a charter and when it voted to revoke a charter. She also helped to bridge the gap between the LESC and the PED

The $22.5 million grant Katie wrote to expand and improve charter schools in NM included money to train all state and local authorizers.

Dr.Meredith Machen

League of Women Voters of New Mexico

Director of Special Projects Education Chair

Protect west-side residents from sewer odors

City leaders and officials propose spending more on recreational enjoyment facilities, rather than more on fire station priorities. Spending “our” increased property taxes on projects. Ignoring very important health issues.

This city only spends $700.000 a year on sewer chemicals, that are obvious not enough to protect Las Cruces west-side residents from wind-blown sewer plant sickly orders, penetrating into swamp coolers that are turned off half the time. These west-side Las Cruceans are dealing with the choice of either tolerating high temperatures time and time or be cooled by drafts of air-stripped chemical odors and sewer organisms that will cause illnesses, health issues over time.

The city of Las Cruces should afford to spend more on proper chemicals and qualified sewer coordinators that will get this should be a priority right. West-side residents pay property taxes too.